Chapter 2

The moment she finished speaking, her phone rang.

Warren’s anxious voice came through the phone.

“Lani, it’s terrible. Two of Pudding’s babies have gone stiff and won’t move…”

Lani’s attention was immediately diverted.

“What happened? They were fine when I left, weren’t they?”

Warren’s voice was choked with tears.

“I don’t know what happened…”

Lani grabbed her car keys and headed out the door.

“Warren, don’t cry. I’ll be right over to see what’s going on.”

It had always been like that. She never missed a single call from Warren.

But when it came to my calls, she would hang up on me time and time again.

Before long, Warren posted an update on his stories.

The video showed Lani gently performing CPR on the puppy.

[Papa won’t give up on either of you. We’ll make sure you both grow up safe and healthy.]

Those words, “safe and healthy”, stung my eyes.

I reached out and touched the urn hidden beneath the blanket.

“My baby, don’t be afraid. Even without Mom, Dad is here with you.”

That night, I curled up beside the crib and fell asleep with my child’s urn by my side.

Early the next morning, as I lay half-asleep, half-awake, I thought I heard a dog barking outside the door.

I got up and walked outside.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw a huge Samoyed frolicking in the living room.

Lani was carrying a pet carrier with eight puppies inside.

She said to me, “Pudding just gave birth, and Warren doesn’t know how to take care of them, so I’m taking them in for a while. I’ll send them back after Anjou comes back.”

I gave her a cold, dismissive look.

“No need. You can keep them as long as you want.”

Lani looked at me with some surprise.

“Aren’t you afraid of dogs anymore? Didn’t you used to say that dogs carry germs and aren’t good for the baby?”

Three months ago, when Warren went on a trip, he had planned to leave the dog under Lani’s care for a month.

I had been bitten by a dog when I was a child, so I had a psychological fear of them. Plus, I was worried that Anjou was still too young and might catch germs from the dog, so I had flat out refused.

Because of that, Lani and I gave each other the cold shoulder for quite a while.

However, since our child was gone, I would leave in three days too.

The dog was no longer my concern.

Warren, who had been standing nearby, walked over and slipped his arm through Lani’s.

“Lani, Noel isn’t afraid of dogs anymore. That’s a good thing.

“Kids aren’t as delicate as you make them out to be. They need to be exposed to new things to build up their immunity.

“Oh no! I forgot to buy Pudding her special postpartum dog food.”

Warren took Lani by the arm and headed for the door.

“Lani, come with me to buy it!”

Once the two of them left, the entire house was left with just me and the nine dogs. A deep-seated fear made me turn on my heel and go back inside, slamming the door shut.

I contacted my lawyer, briefly explained the situation, and asked him to draft the divorce papers for me.

Before long, the divorce papers were sent over. I opened it on my computer to see if there were any changes that needed to be made.

Suddenly, the bedroom door was flung open from the outside.

Lani stormed in, her face contorted with rage.

Startled, I was about to ask her what had happened.

But Lani grabbed my hand and dragged me into the living room.

“Did you do this?”

In the living room, the eight puppies that had been so lively just moments ago were all foaming at the mouth, lying stiff and lifeless on the floor.

The big dog stood nearby while barking furiously at me.

There were tears in Warren’s eyes as he accused me.

“Noel, if you don’t like dogs, just say so. Why did you kill them? These were eight living, breathing dogs!”